Joseph Vijay was sworn in as Tamil Nadu’s chief minister at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Sunday to rousing applause from thousands of fans and supporters, as his fledgling political party officially assumed power in the state.
“This is a new and fresh beginning. A new era of true and secular social justice begins…” Vijay said in a joyful speech after the swearing-in ceremony. He also made three announcements – providing 200 units of free electricity, forming a task force for women’s safety and setting up another to tackle the drug menace.
Vijay was joined at the ceremony by family members, friends, senior police officials, administrative officials and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, whose party last week extended its support through the five MLAs in the state.
Shortly after taking the oath, the actor-turned-politician traveled to his office at the state secretariat in Fort St George.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi later congratulated Vijay over a phone call.
Nine MLAs of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in Vijay were sworn in as ministers, according to a press release – party general secretary N Anand, general secretary (election administration) Aadhav Arjuna, general secretary (police and publicity) KG Arunraj, chief coordinator KA Sengottaiyan, treasurer P Venkataramanan, joint secretary R Nirmalkumar, deputy general secretary Rajmohan, Sivaganga district secretary T K Prabhu and Sivagasi MLA S Keerthana.
The ceremony capped days of political uncertainty in Tamil Nadu after TVK emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats but fell short of achieving a 118-seat majority in the 234-member assembly.
Dressed in a black suit and white shirt, the 51-year-old Tamil film star began taking the oath at 10.17am, turning the formal exercise into a theatrical spectacle with fans cheering almost every line.
When the section began with “C Joseph Vijay ennum naan… (I, C Joseph Vijay)”, the 2,500 people inside the stadium burst into applause.
Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlikar took oath after appointing Vijay as Chief Minister on Saturday evening.
Vijay briefly went off script by ending the oath with a fist pump, prompting the governor to ask him to read the official transcript from the document presented to him.
“I am not a messiah or an angel. I will not deceive you all by making false promises. I am also a common man like you. I too know the value of poverty and hunger,” Vijay said in his 12-minute speech.
“The only goal is the well-being of the people,” he added.
Pledging transparent governance, Vijay said he would never meet anyone “in secret” or work behind “closed doors”.
As part of his immediate plans, Vijay claimed that the previous regime had left behind debts of more than 100%. $10 trillion and left an “empty treasury.”
“Only in such a situation do we take this responsibility upon ourselves. Only when we evaluate the financial circumstances do I feel that I must issue a white paper to all of you,” he said.
He also thanked Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, and Rahul Gandhi, whom he called “my brother”, along with leaders of the Left parties, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Kackhi (VCK) and Indian Muslim League, whose support will help TVK cross the majority mark.
“Tamil Nadu has chosen. A new generation. A new voice. A new imagination. My best wishes to Vijay – may he fulfill the hopes of the people of Tamil Nadu,” Gandhi said in a social media post.
TVK now has the support of 120 MLAs in the 234-member assembly. The VCK and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), along with two legislators, extended “unconditional support” on Saturday, after the Congress (five MLAs), the Communist Party of India (two) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (two) supported the party earlier.
Vijay’s rising party broke Tamil Nadu’s five-decade duopoly to emerge as the single largest party in the Assembly elections last Monday. In the days that followed, intense negotiations to form the government briefly raised speculation that the rivals of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could join hands.
Those discussions ended on Saturday.
Vijay contested from Trichy East and Perambur and won both the seats. His resignation from Trichy East reduced the effective strength of TVK in the council to 107.
Later, Vijay posed for a group photo with the governor and his cabinet and also posed for a selfie with his supporters.
